Imperialism: The Origins of a Global Power

1. Why did American plantation owners and U.S. Marines topple Hawaii’s queen in 1893? Why was Hawaii considered to be a valuable prize? What was President Grover Cleveland’s reaction? Do you agree or disagree with his quote on page 1?
-American plantation owners and U.S. Marines toppled Hawaii's queen because they favored bringing the islands officially under U.S. control.
-President Grover Cleveland's reaction was that he withdrew the treaty because he believed that the annexation would corrupt traditional American values of freedom and equality. He also opposed Hawaii's new leaders, who in his mind had unjustly deprived the Hawaiian queen of her throne.
-I do not agree with his quote because i believe that we needed Hawaii and we shouldn't have to worry about the welfare of the Hawaiians. Most of the economy was dominated by American sugar plantation owners anyway.

2. Identify five important changes that transformed American in the nineteenth century. How did these five changes affect Americans?
-Change: Massive land acquisitions to the west Effect: held resources that increased the country's wealth and as a result the US built up significant economic and political power.

-Change: Immigration Effect: Broadened America's ethnic diversity.

-Change: Urban Growth Effect: overburdened transportation systems, inadequate sanitation, rising crime, substandard housing and political corruption. It also cause agriculture to slip from its central place in American society.

-Change: Trade Effect: huge numbers of goods that other countries valued were being made by the immigrants, which increased the annual value of American exports exponentially.

-Change: 1893 Depression Effect: Bankrupcy of two major railroads, new yourk stock echange tumbled, many people went bankrupt, millions of americans lost their jobs

3. How did the economic depression that began in 1893 deepen the divisions in American society? Which groups suffered the most during the depression?
It deepened the divisions in American society by making the workers realize how vulnerable they were in an economy based on industry and manufacturing. It was the actual americans that suffered the most during the depression.

4. What were the values many Americans attached to the frontier? Why did many Americans fear that the closing of the frontier would harm America’s national character?
The values attached to the frontier were resourcefulness, bravery, pragmatism, ingenuity, individualism, egalitarianism, and patriotism. Many feared that closing the frontier would harm America's national character because they viewed it as the American identity. It also had fueled the country's economic growth.

5. Why did some Americans suggest greater involvement overseas?
Some Americans suggested greater involvement overseas because of the fear about the changing American character and the belief in American power combined to convince some people that a more aggressive approach to dealing with other nations would be the best way to ensure the continued economic success of the US. They believed that expansion would fuel economic growth.

6. What policy did expansionists say would ensure the economic success of the United States? What did imperialists say?
Expansionists thought creating some ports to open doors to new foreign markets would be sufficient but imperialists believed that the course of history was pointing abroad.

7. How did the theories of social Darwinism and scientific racism lend support to the cause of American imperialism? How were these pseudo-scientific theories used to justify racist policies and imperialism? Are they still used today?
-Social Darwinism explained differences among the world's racial and ethnic groups in terms of evolution. It was survival of the fittest and the social Darwinist believed that we had demonstrated our superiority. Scientific racism showed that mental abilites and persnality traits were racial characteristics. Whites were considered superior to the other races. They are still used today with discrimination of people because of their race or sexuality.

8. What did many Protestant churches say was America’s role in the world?
Many protestant churches said America's role in the world should be to lift up the downtrodden of other nations.

9. Why did the United States become involved in several Latin American nations in the nineteenth century? Summarize why the United States became involved in Samoa, Hawaii, and other Latin American nations.
The US became involved in several Latin American nations in the nineteenth century because we wanted to stabilize them so that trade would be safe. We became involved with Samoa, Hawaii, and other Latin American nations so that we could get safe fueling points to facilitate trade.

10. Why was the United States concerned about British involvement in Venezuela? What concept did U.S. Secretary of State Richard Olney invoke in response?
The US was concerned about British involvement in Venezuela because we thought they were bullying them, and it shared a border with the British colony of Guiana and held large deposits of god. Olney did not want Britain or any other European countries to get the idea they could carve up Latin America for colonies as they had recently done in Africa. Such action would prevent the US from expanding its own commercial ties to Latin America.